Experimental observation of chaotic motion in a rotor with rubbing

This paper presents an application for chaotic motion identification in a measured signal obtained in an experiment. The method of state space reconstruction with delay co-ordinates with the dynamic evolution described by a map is used. Poincare diagrams, correlation dimensions and Lyapunov exponents are obtained as tools for deciding about the existence of chaotic behaviour. The method is applied to measurements of the lateral displacement of a vertical rotor experiencing rubbing and in some signals chaos is observed. The work concludes that the possibility of chaotic motion is well determined with the observation of Poincare diagrams and computation of Lyapunov exponents. Correlation dimensions computations, strongly influenced by noise, are not convenient tools for investigation of chaotic behaviour in signals generated by mechanical systems.